Mostly venting as I prepare to start applying for jobs. I feel numb. Pit in my stomach. The news destroyed my partner who was already anxious about finances for our family.

Now I have to sit in my home office of shame and just apply for jobs all day. I was at least a little proactive, expecting it this time and was actively applying. Have a job interview next week.

Why does it have to be like this?

Got an unexpected calendar invite on my calendar by my manager and HR partner was on the call.

They informed me that my role is getting eliminated and I have until Dec 31st. I can apply to roles internally in the meanwhile and they will support me, is what they said.

Severance is super low. What are my options ?

Reference to my earlier post: https://www.reddit.com/r/Layoffs/s/anzs2x2W8r

TLDR; Elon Musk buying Twitter and gutting the company to have it still run (who knows how efficiently) was the first Domino to fall. Once the book was out, CEOs began copying the same strategy. The sad part is - the companies seem to be doing fine. Employee burnout is probably at an all-time high and people have grown accustomed to doing multiple jobs with no support on the way.

We are a long ways away from an employee driven market. The pendulum has unfortunately swung in the CEOs side and it’s not swinging back for quite some time. The only possibility I see is if Capex budgets gets pushed with lower interest rates and companies beginning to build back up again.

Not good.

I work in corporate America, 9-5 in a cube farm. Jobs nice but it has absolutely zero emotional meaning or connection for me, I feel like life’s just on autopilot and I can envision myself sitting in a cubicle until retirement.

With that said, I am reluctant to leave due to the general pay and benefits package, even at the expense of my soul.

I often think a layoff event would be terrible, but a percentage of me would be over the moon that it’s finally over and maybe I can use the opportunity to reinvent myself or get into a field I actually care about as a person and not just a paycheck.

Has anyone else been in this situation? Were you laid off and used the opportunity to change your life? If so, let’s hear it

Im 27m, After 414 days of unemployment, and 700+ applications (including Warehousing, Factory work, etc.), I finally got a job I wanted, although in a completely different industry (as a Gardener)

I have 10 years of Work Experience, 7 of which was in Civil Engineering, City Planning and 3D Art

I had no more savings but got a wonderful offer to work as a Landscaping Gardener, where they will train me, drive me from home to work, allow me to use my 3D Modelling / Design skills and Drone Operation

Just wanted to share this good news with everyone, and I hope everyone the best of luck 🌸✨️

Edit: I just wanted to add some more context, for anyone who is feeling hopeless.

I lost my previous job due to AI, as all investors left the creative industry and 3D becoming more and more automated.

I also had to suddenly relocate due to an electrical housefire (due to landlord neglect of reported issues). Barely escaped with my pets. It's almost winter, the time when finding a job is most difficult.

So dont give up! Keep calling places, ask for connections, call up any unions or associations for your industry. Switch industries, transfer your skills, your experiences are always valuable💪

Cigna started Layoffs today. They are outsourcing multiple jobs to India. Expect multiple rounds of Layoffs through next year.

I have been laid off a few times in my career, which was never easy (my first one was extremely depressing, but the later ones became more of a "whatever, try finding someone else who would produce the same amount of work for this trash pay".

I was just thinking of this today. A senior executive at our company had decided to leave. Wow, the email was full of praises, highlighting his achievements throughout more than 10 years of service, and we even had a send-off with food and drinks to wish him the best in his future adventure. It was such a lovely vibe, everyone was cheering him on and thanking him, wishing him the best.

I remember at my previous company, one of the vice presidents was apparently walked out of the premises by security (I did not see it since I was in another building). I remember it vividly because I had a call with him in the morning because I was working on a deliverable for him, and then, in the afternoon, I noticed that the email bounced, and usually when people were out of office, you would get a message back, but everything was blocked and shut down. I only found out a day later that apparently he was laid off along with others.

Imagine that first executive, if it was the company's decision to lay him off, we would not be having a send-off. We would not be celebrating his achievements. We wouldn't even be allowed to talk to him while on company grounds. It would be as if all these achievements and contributions have been absolutely nothing at all. He would not be even getting a thank you note.

Did the first executive contribute more to the company just because it was his decision to leave, and not the company's decision to terminate him? I find it so ironic. I would not say the people who were laid off contributed LESS than the people who left voluntarily, since it's really all based on timing and luck. So I don't really know why there is such a big disconnect between how these two groups are treated.

Received the following email in work today, quite clwar what their intentions are:

Group ExCo: Building our workforce for the future

Dear colleague,

We know there is understandable interest in what the future of work means for Barclays and for our colleagues. Questions about technology and AI, future skills and career opportunities are front of mind for many of you. We want to be open about how we are thinking about these matters and to have that conversation with you all.

Barclays’ success has always depended on how well we serve customers and clients, and you are at the heart of that success.

What is changing is the environment in which we operate. Customer and client expectations are evolving rapidly. Competition is intensifying. Advances in technology, particularly AI, are changing how products are developed, services are delivered, and work gets done. To succeed, Barclays must continue to evolve.

Our strategy is clear. We are accelerating our ambition to become a simpler, better and more balanced bank. Through Catalyst, we are simplifying Barclays by redesigning processes, modernising technology, clarifying accountability and improving how decisions are made. Segment Leadership ensures we are investing our resources in the areas where Barclays has the greatest opportunity to lead, differentiate and win.

We have always placed our colleagues at the heart of our ambitions and that will continue.

As we think about the future of Barclays, we are building a workforce plan to support our strategy to 2028 and beyond. Over time, our workforce will look different, with a different mix of skills, a different size, and a different shape. This will mean fewer roles than we have today. These changes will affect some parts of the bank more than others, but we expect the skills, size, and shape of every part of the bank to evolve.

Our commitment to you

Supporting all of you to prepare for the future and have the opportunity to grow your careers and succeed is a priority for us, and we are making the following commitments:

We will put internal talent first. Barclays will invest c.£150m in future skills by 2030. It is our intention to prioritise existing colleagues for advertised internal roles, while also reducing our reliance on third-party colleagues.

We will always assist with career support and development. We are expanding our personalised career support service, helping you search for and prepare for a new job today while building the skills needed for the roles of tomorrow.

We are equipping all of you to use AI responsibly, effectively and confidently. More than 40,000 of you have already accessed our AI learning. In 2027, we will launch an AI Learning Pathway programme, enabling everyone to attain an externally recognised Digital Credential.

We are building future skills for those at the start of their careers. Almost 15,000 graduates, apprentices and interns completed Barclays’ early career programmes over the past five years, and we are committed to 2,800 places in 2027.

We will stand by colleagues, helping you prepare, adapt and make informed choices about your career. Our internal Career Transitions Service and our global outplacement service provide access to tailored career support, coaching, and development opportunities, whether your next move is within Barclays or beyond. We appreciate the impact these changes will have on certain colleagues which is why we are committed to helping with internal and external opportunities.

This is the start of an ongoing conversation. As Barclays evolves, we will continue to share more about our plans and what they mean for you. Barclays will look different in the future, but our commitment remains the same: helping our colleagues develop and build rewarding careers, while meeting the changing needs of customers and clients, and ensuring Barclays continues to succeed in the years ahead.

Group ExCo

I was laid off from big tech in May 2026 and it was emotionally brutal for me. I saw some signs but nothing led me to think I would be impacted. Then woke up one day and I was jobless, just like that.

I am still applying for jobs and did some interviews. I reached the final stage in a few recruitment processes, but zero offers so far. I am struggling opening LinkedIn and see another post of person landing into an amazing job/company and how happy they are.

Comparison is a b*tch. This makes me feel worthless. It's been 5 months, I am sick of this.

Since being part of a massive layoff at my last full-time job back in 2023, I've been freelancing ever since (NOT by choice--my goal is another full-time job). I keep getting hired for busy seasons, and everyone tells me how great I am and how much they appreciate my help, but when a full-time position becomes available at the same company, I'm never chosen. Some of my past jobs (full-time and freelance) have active listings for my previous position, but when I apply, I get crickets or rejections. I'm so frustrated I could scream. Why sing my praises, but NOT tell me what I'm doing wrong? Why won't they tell me why they don't want to rehire me, or why don't current jobs take the time to tell me where I'm lacking so I can fix it?

currently 24F and have been WFH in healthcare since 2023 as my first “big girl job” but been in the workforce since 18.

in may/june my company laid off 3 people who were higher on the pay scale and were seemingly transparent that lower scales would be safe since it wouldn’t make a difference to the issues they were facing.

last friday i clocked back in from lunch, ready to face the 2nd half of my day and get to the weekend, but immediately got a call from our director with hr in tow letting me know my position was being eliminated.

they revoked my access right after the call and had me turn in my equipment asap. they counted it as a “two week notice” but said the last two weeks would be administrative leave.

i get 6 weeks severance but don’t get paid until 30 days after separation.

there were 24 of us in the layoff and the union wasnt notified until we were, so there’s an emergency meeting tomorrow.

i’m at a loss

Was on a 6 months contract due to end early Jan. Got the call today to terminate earlier - this month due to no budget.

I feel down. Had plans and dreams for the rem 2 months.

Have 2 more weeks left. PM in a financial institution

I have 14 years of work experience. I have been out of a job for over 4 months now and it’s starting to mess with my head a bit. I have been applying everywhere but I am not getting proper/no responses. Over the years I made a couple of wrong decisions and joined the wrong places, and now after a recent layoff I am finding it harder than expected to get back on track. Most job applications just go into silence and it’s been draining.

For anyone who’s been through something similar later in their career, what actually helped you during that phase??

Laid off in August. 38 applications. 3 interviews. No offers.

I am back-end office role at Director+ level in NYC.

Im getting the feeling that we are competing against AI tailored mass appliers (or thats just my excuse anyway). Taking certifications, learning AI, etc in the meantime.

Biggest fear is November and December are usually dead months.

There’s probably a silver lining here, but it still feels shitty.

I was laid off summer 2025 and was hunting for something most of that time. I finally was able to get in as a contingent worker at a company I used to work for a few years ago (different team, similar LOB).

I had some weird feelings about the hiring manager in my final interview. I can’t describe it, she just seemed off. Like, robotic - talked real fast and only in business jargon. Not a lot of warm opening questions. That’s fine for an interview in the middle of the day - didn’t look too deep into it.

I didn’t receive any instructions for what to do my first day. I was sent equipment in the mail, but never told how to set it up. My recruiter had to get that info for me. Was finally able to get in touch with IT and set up my laptop.

Onboarding was pretty tough. They pretty much expected me to understand the entire business on day one. It’s true, I knew a lot of things in this LOB, but much had changed and there were a lot of new tech that we didn’t have before (cloud and AI). Any time I had questions about the database structure, I was pointed to AI, not a human. All the training videos and materials with sharepoint links on Confluence were access restricted and I could not track down who could give me access or anyone who themselves had the files. Every time I had thought I had gotten all of the access requests raised and approved, I found there were more levels to access. It took a couple weeks before I was able to run all the queries I needed to start doing my job.

The company who hired me for the contract also hired a PM for the team. She quit after 3 days - the recruiter told me that the team was basically telling her to plan the entire project from scratch and it was more than she had signed up for.

I wasn’t assigned to a Jira user story for 3 weeks. And the first one they assigned me to was the wrong one by the title (the description wasn’t even filled out).

I was getting really bad vibes and wanted to reach out to the recruiter - not to complain, but to let her know things were rough and how I should proceed to make all this work. I don’t have the luxury of being able to quit and find something else right away. But I got a call on Monday from the recruiter saying that funding had been cut and I was off the team. She was shocked and says this doesn’t happen often at this company and that they were going to do their best to assign me to another team, but it’s not guaranteed.

I’m so upset. I’m worried I didn’t speak up soon enough. I’m worried that they mistook my confusion for incompetence. I wrote a message to the manager after the convo with the recruiter basically letting her know I was aware of the situation. Her response was terse, like it was just business. Maybe that’s why I felt so shitty - I was expendable to these people.

Hello all,

We see endless posts and comments about layoffs, interviews and the job market. Some people have been unemployed for three years, while others find a new job within a week.

I think it would be incredibly helpful if we all started including a bit of background when sharing our experiences. Nothing complicated, just industry and years of experience, perhaps previous employers if relevant (e.g. AdTech, 12 years of experience, 2 years at FAANG).

It would make a world of difference for knowledge sharing and benchmarking. Someone struggling to find a job with 1–2 years of experience is in a very different situation from someone with 20 years of solid experience who can’t even land an interview. Both are worth discussing, but the context matters.

I just saw a post from someone saying they’d been unemployed for three years. Only buried in the comments did they mention they’d been in college during that time. Quite the roller coaster reading that, as the original post painted a completely different picture.

I’m not suggesting anyone’s struggles are less valid. I just think a little context would make these discussions far more useful for everyone trying to understand where they stand in this market.

I got laid off last week and I have less than $8K in unvested RSUs that were supposed to vest on February. I am trying to determine if I can ask the company to accelerate the vesting or keep me as unpaid employee till the vesting date. Has anyone done anything like this ? One fear I have is if the company will withdraw the existing severance offer if I make additional request for the RSUs, is that fear unfounded? Should I give it a try at least ?

I started at this company 5 months ago and found out last month they were being bought out. Everything they did from that point on was shady but they insisted there was no need to be worried about losing jobs. I was blindsided when I came back from a pre-approved vacation to an email letting me know I “wasn’t selected” to be employed with the new company, effective immediately. To make matters worse, the email was from someone I met once, very briefly, and my direct supervisor wasn’t even aware until I turned my things in. They said it wasn’t based on performance or value of work, but it’s my first time ever losing a job before and I can’t help but take it personally. I had started applying to a few things already because I knew the ship was sinking, but now I feel like I don’t qualify for anything that pays as well as I was making, and I already took a small pay cut when I came to this position. Maybe I’m just panicking but I feel like I don’t know where to go from here. Any advice or words of encouragement would be appreciated!

About 7 months ago I was laid off from my job due to a restructuring. I won multiple awards for performance and had a pretty successful track record for the last 7 years working in tech sales.

I have attended interview after interview since the week I was laid off. It doesn’t even feel like I’ve been unemployed because I’m able to get multiple interviews from applying. The thing is I have attended dozens of long, drawn out interview loops. And the feedback is always about an internal hire or things being put on pause. It’s been quite frustrating. And I’ve been at a loss about how to improve how I position myself in these interviews.

I’ve already hired a career coach which costed a lot of money, reached out to my network for referrals and advice, and applied to countless roles.

My resume certainly works but…Maybe these companies don’t have the guts to tell me there’s something wrong with how I interview. But I’ve gotten to final stage 10 times and someone else always gets chosen or they never intended on hiring in the first place.

Last month, I was ghosted from a company that seemed promising, after they advertised the role being in my city. but then the recruiter contacted me to say I was still being considered but they were thinking about sourcing from the HQ location instead and that the advertised salary was a concern for them. This was halfway through the process and since then, I’ve been ghosted.

After months and months of being dragged through these long interview loops I decided to give up and just try to get a local luxury retail sales job since I live in an upscale area with a lot of tourism and wealthy people. So I changed my resume and got interviews immediately.

One of the boutiques I applied and interviewed for offered me a job a week after interviewing. However, during that week a huge company I applied for before throwing in the towel reached out and they have moved very quickly. In a week I have met most of the team with great feedback each step of the way.

I already completed an offer from the boutique and honestly, I really like the hiring manager I met with. But now I’m in a potentially difficult position. Because I could potentially get a job offer from this tech company but then I’d have to rescind my candidacy from the boutique job I accepted. But then I could get laid off from the tech company or they could rescind an offer. I have been laid off 3 times now.

However, I am in a unique situation because I have a good amount in my emergency savings account which cover living expenses for the next 6 months. I also don’t know what the right thing to do is. I don’t want to continue to watch my savings dwindle hoping for a corporate role. And I’m sick of doing nothing but interview for tech roles with companies that don’t know what they are doing. But also don’t want to kill a solid, successful AE career.

What should I do? I cannot go through another month long interview process if this tech company rejects me and I’m seriously considering giving up on corporate.